Update

Well, for some reason, blogger won't let me upload photos, so I thought at least I would update you all verbally.  Hopefully soon I will have pics of K's birthday party, visiting with family and just some fun ones of around here. 

Starting with why Emily isn't walking...We had a physical therapy evaluation of Emily this Saturday and it was determined that she is "REALLY strong" and "very single minded"...he just kept repeating that so I had to throw it in. I have different words for those same qualities. :) Anyway, the reason she isn't walking is because she is too stiff.  If you recall when we first brought her home from the hospital, we had PT exercises for her.  It was because her muscles were so stiff (from laying on a flat surface for five months) that her hands didn't even meet in front of her (like to clap).  So we had to stretch her out each day.  Then it came up again when she was trying to learn to sit...her hamstrings were too tight, forcing her too far back and causing her to lose her balance.  More stretching and finally sitting. 

Well, here it is again.  Her right hip flexor is too tight.  This doesn't allow the extension she needs in order to walk correctly.  In fact, she is turning circles because one leg is correct and the other swings too short.  They have determined that she has everything she needs and should be walking by now but the stiffness prevents her from having the balance she needs to build the confidence to let go.  She does take two to three steps on her own but that is it.  So, off to start stretching her out again.

On her eating, she is still doing pretty well.  Her bottle amount is down lower than we would like and she still chews more than she sucks (which really just infuriates me), but her solids are up significantly and she is doing very well at eating her solids.  She still gags on anything that isn't puree (except baby cookies), but we are getting there.  She is adventurous and will try anything.  She seems to like most things she tastes, unless it is sweet.  No fruit yet but she will eat yogurt.  I am still making her 'german potato soup' although it is less like the real thing every time I make it because I replace some foods with higher calorie and fat foods each time I make it.

We will find out about her weight, eating and eyes more tomorrow.

K is still doing great.  She has moved in to her big girl bed for the second try (she has nightmares quite often and hasn't liked the freedom yet).  She is still on a pretty restrictive diet because of her egg and peanut allergies.  People ask me all the time what they would be surprised she can't eat, so I thought I would share with all of you.  Eggs are in all things baked (cookies, cakes, most breads, etc) and most things deep fried or breaded (yes, nuggets, onion rings, etc).  They are in most crackers, pre-prepared meals, mayonaise and all white noodles (so no pasta dishes and many soups are out).  The catch, and what makes it hard, is that many things that do not have egg in them are "made in a plant that makes products containing egg".

So, what DOES she eat?  Well, to be honest, pretty healthily.  Most of her food is just the real deal.  She eats plain meat and cheese when I eat a sandwich.  She has oatmeal for breakfast and yogurt and fruit for snacks.  I make her soup which is just veggies in chicken broth and some seasoning and she eats that every day.  At supper, she eats whatever we are eating, which means that M and I have nearly cut all eggs out of our diet as well.  We eat rice instead of noodles and have a lot of meals that are just meat and veggies.  I have found the crackers and treats that do not have egg in them and just buy those.  We very rarely eat out.  On the occasions that we have something like spaghetti, we are just careful to keep the sauce separate and she dips bread in the sauce while we eat noodles.  Honestly, we have told her since the day we found out that 'eggs make owies' and are 'bad for K', so she generally doesn't fuss if we just tell her she can't have a food item for that reason.  Yes, I make all the birthday cakes egg free so she can still have them.  Really, it just means a lot more baking from scratch.  I make almost everything she eats, we even still eat pancakes and cookies, I just have to make them the old fashioned way and replace eggs with baking soda, oil and water. One of K's first words was oil because she always helps me cook and that was one item she could go get for me all on her own. 

The girls are getting better at playing together, although Em is still too young to really get the idea of playing together yet.  She understands when K is on the floor crawling around with her and getting Em to follow her and other simple games, but most of the time, K is more interested in reading a book or coloring or having tea parties in her play house to really be interested in Em. Em just seems to be happy if they are in the same room playing with different things. 

We have them sleeping in the same room and although they wake each other up sometimes, I plan to keep them together as long as I can.  On the mornings when they wake up together and I hear laughing and giggling in the monitor, a smile comes to my face.  On the mornings when one wakes the other one up because of crying, and soon they are both screaming, I wonder what I am thinking keeping them in the same room.  The answer?  I am hoping that some day most mornings will be laughing and giggling. 

Well, that is plenty long enough and I hope it wasn't too boring, but sometimes I get asked a lot of the same questions, and as a teacher, I figure that means there are plenty of people who are wondering but just not asking.  Have a great day and God Bless!!